Artist Name: The MC5

Year Inducted: 2008

Details

Category: Legendary Songs

"Kick Out The Jams" (R. Tyner, W. Kramer, F. Smith, M. Davis, D. Thompson) - The MC5;  Elektra label,  # 82 Billboard Hot 100 - 1969.  Inducted in 2008.

With the release of the MC5's "Kick Out The Jams" album, recorded live at Detroit's Grande Ballroom, Elektra Records became the first major company to issue a rock and roll recording containing the dreaded "F-bomb".  

In order to get "Kick Out The Jams" played on Top 40 radio stations, the MC5 had recorded a different version of the song on the 45 rpm single which substituted "Brothers and Sisters" for the offensive expletive.  The single was a major hit in the Detroit area, and showing signs of doing the same nationally, when Elektra released the album with the uncensored version. 

The wave of controversy from the release resulted in the record being banned in many stores and radio stations.  Some clerks who sold the album in record stores were arrested on obscenity charges. 

The censorship issues and radical politics swirling around the MC5 unfortunately obscured the fact that they were a great band, and "Kick Out The Jams" would be their only charting record. 

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfKhvzUdJoM